Forever
by TheBlindQueen
Summary: A slightly AU version of the time immediately following the confrontation with the Volturi in New Moon.


Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I don't get any money for any of this.

Title: Forever  
Author: TheBlindQueen  
Characters: Bella, Edward, Alice.  
Notes: Slightly AU at the end of New Moon. What might have happened if they couldn't leave Italy right away, but had to spend a night there? Alone…away from the prying eyes of others?

***********Forever************

Alice snapped the phone closed with an irritated flick of her wrist. "Well that's just _wonderful_," she muttered. /No flights until tomorrow./

I sighed and Bella stirred against me. She was not asleep; she seemed determined to remain awake, but she was exhausted and limp in my arms. "What is it?" Bella asked, her voice dazed.

I tightened my arms around her, tenderly kissing her temple. "Nothing. Don't worry, Bella," I soothed her. "You'll be home tomorrow." To my surprise, she shuddered in my arms and I detected the faintly salty scent of her tears. Her arms gripped at my neck even tighter than before. "Shh…" I whispered, throwing a frantic glance at Alice. She read my expression /What do I do NOW?/ in the rearview mirror and she giggled.

Obviously, Alice was going to be of no help, so I turned my attention to Bella once more. "My love," I murmured. "I've got you. You're safe." Bella relaxed a bit, though her hold on my neck did not ease at all. I looked up at Alice again. "Get us a hotel room. Bella needs to rest." I was not sure how long Bella could maintain her composure; that she had done so for so long was a miracle. I trembled when I thought of her in the midst of those vicious killers. I pushed away the thought.

Alice nodded and was soon on the phone again. A moment later she snapped it shut with satisfaction. "All done. Two rooms." She met my eyes in the mirror.

"Two?" If she thought I was leaving Bella alone -

"One for me, of course," Alice replied, rolling her eyes at me. "And one for the two of you." Then her thoughts turned to Jasper, which was enough to make me suspicious. I knew she would warn me if she saw anything dangerous, of course, so I let her keep her thoughts to herself. I was too busy savoring the feel and scent and warmth of Bella too much to bother with Alice at the moment.

The hotel was beautiful, of course. Alice would never have even bothered with anything less than five-star accommodations. I would not have cared if it was a hovel, as long as it was not in Volterra – and as long as Bella was with me. But Alice liked her comforts and I owed her. Big.

I smiled, shaking my head at her as I helped Bella from the car. Alice gave a little shrug. /Why not have the best?/

Why not indeed? Besides, Bella deserved the best.

With the quiet efficiency their patrons expected, the hotel staff soon has us comfortably settled into our respective rooms. Bella did not seem to notice that Alice was no longer with us. Instead, she blinked at the luxurious surroundings with blank eyes for just a moment. "I need a shower," she finally said in a low, dead voice.

And then she stumbled toward the bathroom, hardly noticing when I flitted ahead of her placed her bag inside. She would need fresh clothes at least. The door closed behind her and a moment later I heard the shower running. I waited, and then I detected the tantalizing scent of a warm, wet Bella beneath the hot spray of water. If rain made her smell even better, it was nothing compared to what the shower did for her scent. I waited for the familiar burn in my throat, but there was only a vague ache deep inside of me.

Not thirst, but another hunger. Older, even more primal than the terrible thirst More _human. _It was not my _throat_ that ached.

Just when I was starting to wonder if I should check on her, I heard the water cut off and then the sounds of Bella stepping out of the shower. I could only imagine what she looked like with her pink, perfect flesh wet and sleek, her dark hair cascading around her shoulders, a fragrant, silken curtain. She would be warm and slippery and -

Stop.

I heard her wrap one of the thick towels around her. She brushed her teeth and then I heard the soft slide of fabric against her skin. The towel had been dropped to the floor and I swallowed hard. Then there was the soft hiss of the bag's zipper and she was dressing. I banished the pang of regret. I should ignore the useless desires that now surged through me. I didn't even know if she loved me anymore. Bella would have saved me simply because it was the right thing to do, at least as she saw it; I had no way of knowing if her heart still belonged to me.

And how could it? After what I had done to her, I knew I had no right to expect that she could still love me. Very well then, I would beg for her forgiveness. I had been close to doing that anyway. I had known it was only a matter of time – days, not months – before I threw myself at her feet and pleaded for mercy.

I was pulled from my frantic musings by the sound of the door opening.

Bella stood there in a plain white tee-shirt that hung to the middle of her thighs. I could see the faint outline of her nipples through the cloth and I felt myself harden. The desire for her blood had been replaced by something much simpler and just as dangerous – good old-fashioned lust.

Her panties were red. I could see them too. My mouth felt dry and my hands twitched at my sides. I wanted to touch. To caress. To _claim_.

She looked at me, not really seeming to be any more coherent than when we arrived. "You're still here?" Bella seemed only idly curious.

Agony.

With a tired sigh, she sank down on the bed, sitting on the very edge, her hands folded in her lap. "I would have thought you'd be gone by now." I could not read any emotion in her voice; it was lifeless.

"Do you want me gone?" I had no intention of leaving, but perhaps it was best to find out what she was thinking…and feeling.

Bella frowned and looked up at me. "No," she replied too quickly and certainly for it to be a lie. "Why would you think that?"

Perhaps there was hope after all.

I went to her, dropped down on my knees as I had planned to do already. I took her warm hands in my own cold ones and I looked into her eyes. I was going to lead into the subject with delicacy and finesse. I did not want to frighten her. It would require subtlety and patience.

"Can you ever forgive me?" I blurted the words, surprising myself even more than I did Bella. So much for subtlety and finesse.

Her eyes widened. "What are you talking about?" There was genuine confusion in her voice. Or maybe it was the fatigue talking. I didn't care. At least she had not told me no, she had not told me to leave her forever.

"For leaving you, for putting you at risk," I started to explain and then her fingers against my lips halted the furious flow of words.

"Stop," she commanded. Then she sighed and shook her head. "I already told you, you don't need to feel guilty."

"Guilty?" As always, Bella's thought processes confounded me and I could not follow her.

"I know that's why you went to the Volturi," Bella said. "And if there's anything I can't forgive, it's that!" Her hands cradled my face. "Edward, you aren't responsible for my actions."

"Bella," I said. "I'm confused." Would the day ever come when I would understood the complex workings of her silent mind?

She laughed at that, but it was not a happy sound. "Edward, please, don't feel…_obligated_ to protect me. From anything."

Ah, now I could understand what she was thinking. It was absurd, of course, as her thoughts about me so often were. She still had not grasped at the depth of my feelings for her. One lie had been enough to shake the foundations I thought I had built so firmly. I had so much to atone for, but her pain was the worst of it.

I took her hands in mine and smiled up at her. It was best for forge ahead, to state things plainly and let the cards fall where they may. "Bella Swan, I love you. I've never stopped loving you. I never _will_ stop loving you. I will love you for the rest of eternity. The only reason I was strong enough to leave you is that I thought…" I heaved a sigh and kissed her wrist, inhaling the sweet perfume that had haunted me for so long. "If I hadn't thought that I was doing what was right for you, giving you what you really deserved, there's no way in hell that I could have left you."

She stared at me then, the skepticism clear in her dark eyes. "Edward," she began.

But I was done with talking. Words had done nothing more than muddy the waters. I leaned up and forward, pressing my lips to hers with more passion than I had ever allowed myself to express. I felt her stiffen against me and I thought I had lost her.

Then she gave a wild gasp and threw her arms around my neck, her mouth opening sweetly to allow my tongue access. I groaned at the intoxicating taste of her, the soft rasp on her tongue against mine. I had never allowed this before, but my need was stronger than my fear now.

I surrendered to the fever of desire as I crushed her to me. I surged to my feet so that my hands might roam over the body I had imagined caressing countless time. Bella moaned into my mouth and then brought her legs up around my waist, locking her feet at my back. I moved my hands down her back and then cupped her ass.

Perfection.

My fingers carefully moved underneath the red panties, savoring the silk of her skin. "Bella," I whispered, moving my lips from hers to trail up her cheek and to the pulse point pounding in her throat. No venom, no terrifying desire for blood.

I simply wanted to make her mine.

We fell to the bed and she was beneath me. Oh God, how often had I fantasized about feeling her under me? Moving and writhing, cradling me in the space between her legs, sighing my name and pulling at me…

The reality was even better than my most vivid fantasies.

Her tee-shirt disappeared with a little cooperation on her part. I was still clad only in pants and her small hands moved with surprising speed and dexterity. They were gone in moments. Then it was flesh against flesh, only the smallest bits of cotton cloth separating us.

My hand was shaking as I stroked at her. The cotton that shielded her core was soaked. I groaned and thrust at her mindlessly. Then my fingers were beneath the panties and delving into her slick folds. The heat was unbelievable. I was burning, on fire. The heat spread from my fingers and throughout my body.

Then those last barriers were gone, and there was only her hot flesh and the cold stone of mine. "Bella," I said. "I want…I want…you."

"I want you too," she answered, her breath warm and sweet against my ear. I shuddered.

"You'll tell me…" I swallowed hard. "You'll tell me if I hurt you? If I need to stop?"

"You'll never hurt me again," Bella whispered. "I trust you."

That gift, her mercy, her forgiveness, was my undoing. If I had any thought of stopping, it vanished at that moment. I would have her, I would make her mine. There was no other choice – for either of us. For good or for bad, this was it. And when I made her mine, it would be forever. It was fate.

Our lips met as I stroked and caressed and coaxed. She responded beautifully, arching up into my touch with an abandon I could not help but love. Then the moment arrived, and I stopped to stare into her eyes. One last chance for her to refuse me. I'd stop. If I could. No. I would stop. For her, I would do anything. Even this. I would be strong enough to give her what she needed, what we _both_ needed so desperately.

"Are you su-?"

Her mouth against mine stopped the words and she thrust her hips against me, bringing me to the very precipice. The tip of my cock was nestled in her heat and we both groaned at the feel of it. Her hands were on my back, urging me to complete the motion. Of their own volition, my hips surged forward and the flames engulfed me.

Heat.

Spreading up and out to consume us both. I heard her gasp as I tore through the barrier that marked her innocence; I swallowed the sound. Then she sighed and gave a tentative thrust of her hips against me. The fire licked higher. Awkwardly at first, we moved together. It did not take long to find our rhythm, for our bodies to learn what felt good, what felt right. "I love you, Bella," I whispered in her ear as I moved within her.

"Don't leave me again," she pleaded.

"Never," I promised.

And then we were tossed into a current where no words existed. There was only the ebb and flow of bodies, the surge of heat, the surrender to sensation. Then I felt her flutter around me, her muscles squeezing at me with astounding strength. I was surprised that my heart did not beat again. Her pulse became mine, and I was more alive than I'd been in a century.

The pounding coalesced in my back and at the base of my belly. "Bella…" It was both a warning and an exclamation of awe.

How could I have known how powerful this would feel?

There were no words. Bella cried out, arching against me hard. I consumed her cry, took it into myself and let it echo there.

Then I found heaven too.

When at last we quieted, I gathered her into my arms. "You're mine, Bella," I vowed. "Nothing will change that. Nothing in this universe. Forever."

Bella sighed contentedly and snuggled closer. "That's all I'm asking."

That was all I had to give. I had made love to her; I had made her mine. She was unharmed and I knew then that I had the strength to love her – whether as a human or an immortal. And I would; I would always love her.

Forever.


End file.
